There are tons of books out there I haven’t tried- I have yet to get though many of the recipes in the books I already have. Most of these books do not call for a lot, if any, processed vegan substitutes. The baking books call for egg replacements, and vegan margarine such as earth balance natural buttery spread in some cases, but those can be subbed with unprocessed foods too if desired.

Doing a quick amazon search will tell you more details about what is out there, how they rate etc:

+1 – Veganomicon rocks and is definitely a household favorite. Nothing but winners there thus far.

You guys are funny! Thanks for adding some levity with the posole- I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know what that was initially, and I’m a Latin food lover (evidently a pretty sorry one) from California for Pete’s sake!

KSquared, please don’t post the one i sent you as a jpeg with the food stains all over it! it IS tasty though!
and about animals as property, i think if i own an animal, it’s my property, but that doesn’t mean i can mistreat it.

AmyD wrote >>
KSquared, please don’t post the one i sent you as a jpeg with the food stains all over it! it IS tasty though!
and about animals as property, i think if i own an animal, it’s my property, but that doesn’t mean i can mistreat it.

Ha ha I am going to retype it. It will lose the charm of the food stained one though. :)

and about animals as property, i think if i own an animal, it’s my property, but that doesn’t mean i can mistreat it.

O.K. I understand your point.
IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m a dog lover myself. Well, as you know, I love all animals, but IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve had a couple dogs, Bear and Mako (both males), in my life that I had a special bond with and they were like children to me. Bear was a black Turveren/Belgian Shepherd and Mako was wolf and Shepherd hybrid. I rescued Bear from the pound. Mako was added to the family when an Air Force neighbor of mine on base ended up getting assigned to Great Britain, and he didn’t want to put Mako in the mandatory 6 month quarantine for all canines entering the country (they don’t have rabies on the island want to ensure it stays that way). I was happy to take Mako, because Bear and he played very well together. Furthermore, I was often saddened that Mako was relegated to the back yard most of the time because the family had just had a new baby and was understandably worried about the potential dangers with a wolf and an infant if not constantly under watch. The massive craters that had been dug within MakoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s chain reach, the gaping holes under the fence and his frequent howling were evidence that Mako was not happy and lonely with his restricted and isolated arrangements. I had each of them for nearly 15 years. Bear passed in 03 and Mako in 08. I sure do miss them.

dirtgirl wrote >>
The thing that turns me off to vegan (vs vegetarian) cooking is all the synthetic/processed ingredients it requires you to use. Fake eggs, margarine, veganaise… Can’t imagine what types of chemicals are required to make the texture work in those things. Obviously I’m missing the point about animal welfare (but I buy from local small dairies whenever possible), but I’d rather eat real food. The other problem is that a lot of the recipes require using nuts and my kids are allergic.
But all that said, Veganomicon is a great cookbook if you anyone is looking to get started. I got it on Amazon.

Good Point Dirtgirl!

I wanted to further clarify my last statement to you on this:

I agree, that all processed foods should give people pause, to at least read the label, although you would be surprised that most vegan processed foods are predominately not “chemically” based. Here are a couple examples from my freezer:

Hellman’s has the same calories 90, all 90 is fat, and has cholesterol and an a slightly higher salt content.http://www.hellmanns.us/products/real_mayo.aspx (click on the image for nutritional facts) but here is their ingredients list: INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, NATURAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY).

I buy the USDA organic EBNBS, with the natural oil blend of soy bean, palm fruit, canola, olive and they offer several other options now including non soy based for those with allergies. The all have no MSG, no alcohol, no gluten. http://www.earthbalancenatural.com

“Fake eggs” can come in many forms:

Here are a few basic suggestions for substituting one egg (from Chooseveg.com Tips):

osulew wrote >>
I don’t know why I’m compelled to keep posting things, but I cook from this fella’s blog a lot. Everything I’ve picked has been a winner…http://vegandad.blogspot.com/
ETA: This has become one of my fave home stir fries ever.

Red Sun Rising, our dog is “buddy” (ha!). really, it is. he’s about 10 and the best dog ever. and we have Franklin, a cat who is a real jerk and forces me to love him. i love them both. thanks for asking.
it’s so hard when pets die. i had a beagle, marty, for 13 years. he was terrible. not very nice to anyone but me and stank. but i truly loved that beast. he actually bit tim easton once..tore his pant leg and really went at it. i told tim not to pet him because he hadn’t met him before, but he said “dogs love me” and did it anyway. he was from the pound and my guess was that his life wasn’t all that great.
i’m sorry to hear about your dogs. have you thought about getting another? i hope that doesn’t sound crass, because you can’t replace them, but still.

dirtgirl wrote >>
The thing that turns me off to vegan (vs vegetarian) cooking is all the synthetic/processed ingredients it requires you to use. Fake eggs, margarine, veganaise… Can’t imagine what types of chemicals are required to make the texture work in those things. Obviously I’m missing the point about animal welfare (but I buy from local small dairies whenever possible), but I’d rather eat real food. The other problem is that a lot of the recipes require using nuts and my kids are allergic.
But all that said, Veganomicon is a great cookbook if you anyone is looking to get started. I got it on Amazon.

Be careful about the soy products you buy. Many of them are extracted with hexane and the soy industry is not forced to label products processed with hexane.

Right, but labeling is still often unclear as you can label something as “contains organic …” and only needs to contain 66% organics IIRC, leaving the remainder to be conventionally processed.
They need a hexane warning I think. I just don’t see it happening.

I think you are definitely on to something about food labeling. It is absolutely deceptive that we are not told about the chemical processes, sanitization methods, “enhancements”, chemical load in the meat, dairy, eggs etc. used on ANYTHING foisted on us as foods. Warnings about carcinogens should definitely be on there. There should be labeling telling us about any adulterations made- Genetically Modified Organisms, Irradiation, Viruses (they are spraying viruses on meats that eat bacteria) dyes, cleaners, antibiotics, steroids, hormones, fertilizers, pesticides, larvicides, fungicides, herbicides. Our government regulators ensure our drinking waters are treated for this stuff, but they get a whopping “F” at getting them out of our food sources.

This is a fantastic article on food poisoning- I have an easier solution; just omit these products from the repertoire. I’ve not had a case of food poisoning aka “stomach flu” for the 8 years since I’ve been vegan. I’m so glad I don’t really have to worry about most of these in my kitchen anymore.